An Oxford don, of Jesus College, he clearly saw the necessity of laying a solid foundation for the scientific study of his own and kindred languages, and, following up his ideal, he set about publishing specimens of the literature and preparing vocabularies of the various dialects. In pursuit of this laudable object he visited Ireland and Scotland, and when his great work, the _Archæologica Britannica_, began to appear about 1703, enthusiastic Celts from far and near sent him congratulatory odes, some of which he afterwards printed. These poems were either in Latin or in the mother tongue of their contributors. Among the specimens sent from the Scottish Highlands, one, composed by the Rev. John Maclean of Kilninian, Mull, has been justly described by Professor Mackinnon as a “really admirable composition.” Great praise and thanks, O noble Lhuyd, be thine, True learned patriot of the Cambrian line! Thou hast awaked the Celtic from the tomb, That our past life her records might illume. Engraved in every heart in lettered gold Thy name remains; thy silent words unfold To future ages what our sires had seen, While others say, “A Gaelic race hath been.” Such is one verse of the ode, as rendered in English by Dr. Nigel Macneill. Completed and printed at Oxford in 1707, the _Archæologica Britannica_ was, according to the title page, “delivered to the subscribers at 9s. 6d., being the remainder of their payment, and to others at 16s.” As a scientific linguist, the reputation of its brilliant author was at once established. His calibre may be inferred from the following pregnant note, which he appended to an edition of Kirke’s Gaelic Vocabulary in 1702. The note is in Latin to this effect:— Of these 360 Gaelic words, 160 agree, in sound and sense, with the British (Welsh) language. The letter _p_ in Welsh equates with the letter _c_ in Gaelic, _e.g._, pren, crann (tree); plant, clann; pen, ceann; pedwar, ceithir; pymp, cuig; pwy, cia; pasc, casg. _Gw_ of Welsh equates with Gaelic _f_, _e.g._, gwyn, fionn; gwin, fion; gwr, fear; gwair, feur; gwirion, firinneach. The Welsh _h_ corresponds with the Gaelic _s_, _e.g._, hen, sean; helig, seileach; heboc, seabhag; hil, siol; halen, salann; hyn, sin.